Paolo Sorrentino is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and playwright who was born on May 31, 1970. La Grande Bellezza, his 2013 film, earned the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the Bafta Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He received eight David di Donatello and six Nastro d’Argento awards in Italy.
Sorrentino’s directing and writing have won three Cannes Lions, four Venice Film Festival Awards, and four European Film Awards, including Il divo, The Consequences of Love, The Family Friend, This Must Be the Place, and the 2016 TV series The Young Pope.
He collaborates with authors and producers such as Francesca Cima and Nicola Giuliano, as well as Toni Servillo and Luca Bigazzi. Sabrina Ferilli, Fanny Ardant, Isabella Ferrari, Elena Sofia Ricci, Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Riccardo Scamarcio, Jude Law, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Nanni Moretti, Filippo Scotti, Carlo Verdone, Antonio Albanese, and Frank Langella have all appeared in his films.
He has also collaborated with songwriters Antonello Venditti, Paloma Faith, and Mark Kozelek, as well as authored three novels in Italian.